Policy Advocacy - Advocating For Redesigned Adult Learning In Support of Value-Added Teacher

62 Pages·2017·0.92 MB·English

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12-2017
Policy Advocacy - Advocating For Redesigned
Adult Learning In Support of Value-Added Teacher
Evaluation
Caletha White
National Louis University
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POLICY ADVOCACY – ADVOCATING FOR REDESIGNED ADULT LEARNING
IN SUPPORT OF VALUE ADDED TEACHER EVALUATION

Caletha H. White

Educational Leadership Doctoral Program

Submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements of

Doctor of Education

in the Foster G. McGaw Graduate School

National College of Education

National-Louis University

December, 2017

Copyright by Caletha H. White, 2017
All rights reserved

ABSTRACT
Redesigning adult learning in order to move toward excellence in the classroom is
critical to improving the state of the reform work occurring in our schools. Building
coherence among teams of educators by linking staff development to student
achievement is the goal of the advocated policy. Providing a professional learning
network for educators to work in teams, engage in meaningful and relevant work and
develop transformative practices for the classroom is essential to school reform.
Creating practical learning networks for classroom teachers that are based on student
achievement, current practice, and staff needs is the basis for the policy. The vision
behind the adult learning network stems from the idea that on the first day of school
every parent wants the ‘best’ teacher for their child and every child wants the ‘best’
teacher for themselves. The idea of ‘best’ rests upon what parents and students see as the
teacher that will provide the greatest opportunities for success. The activities developed
as part of the advocated learning network are created to support meaningful learning
experiences that engage students by translating innovative adult learning into practice.

i
PREFACE
One of the measures of success as the Director of Instructional Services in the
school district is effective staff development. Throughout this study I have realized the
importance of developing opportunities for teachers, teacher evaluators, and instructional
leaders to work and learn together around questions and problems of practice to find
solutions of practice. Throughout this policy advocacy project, I have deeply reflected
upon the true meaning of professional development and replaced this term with
professional learning to focus on the ‘learning’ that occurs through our practice.
Educators across the school district in various schools and classrooms want to be
excellent educators with robust tasks for students to apply learning to solve problems.
Providing support for teachers to reflect, collaborate, model and analyze their practice
and immediately connect to the classroom opens up a world of opportunities and
possibilities for every educator to move toward excellence through sustainable, relevant
and systematic learning networks.

ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………….………………………………………….………….i
PREFACE ................................................................................................................................................... iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………………………iii
LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................................... iv
SECTION ONE – VISION STATEMENT...............................................................................................1
SECTION TWO – ANALYSIS OF EED...................................................................................................7
Educational Analysis...............................................................................................................................7
Economic Analysis……………………………………………………………………………………………...9
Social Analysis……………………………………………………………………………………………........12
Political Analysis....................................................................................................................................15
Moral and Ethical Analysis................................................................................................................17
SECTION THREE – ADVOCATED POLICY STATEMENT………………………………………...19
Goals and Objectives…………………………………………………………………………………….......19
Needs……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….21
SECTION FOUR – POLICY ARGUMENT………………………………………………………………...23
Favorable Considerations………………………………………………………………………..………..23
Unfavorable Factors …………………………………………………………………………………..…….24
SECTION FIVE – POLICY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN……………………………………….…….27
Educational Activities………………………………………………………………………………...........27
Staff Development Plan ………………………………………..…………………………………….…....29
Timeline………………………………………………………………………………………………………….32
Program Budgets …………………………………………………………………………………………….34
Progress Monitoring Activities ….……………………………………………………………………..36
SECTION SIX – POLICY ASSESSMENT PLAN……………………………………………………......39
Evaluation of Outcomes and Results…………………………………………………………….……39
Stewardship Responsibility……………………………………………………………………………....40
SECTION SEVEN –SUMMARY IMPACT STATEMENT...............................................................42
REFERENCE LIST ..................................................................................................................................44
APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................................... 49
Appendix A: Advocated District Professional Learning Policy……..….…………………50
Appendix B: Professional Learning Policy Goals..…………………………….………….…….53
iii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Spring 2015 PARCC Assessment Scores ........................................................... 10
Table 2: Spring 2015 NWEA MAP Proficiency Summary .............................................. 11
Table 3: Overall Summative Teacher Evaluation Ratings……………………………….11

iv
SECTION ONE – VISION STATEMENT

During recent years many of our 50 states have enacted legislation that mandates
school districts to implement teacher evaluation reform. In Illinois, the adoption of The
Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) of 2010 or Public Act 96-0861, modified as
Senate Bill 7, requires new evaluation models and the inclusion of “data and indicators
on student growth as a significant factor in rating teacher performance into evaluation
plans for all teachers.” (Illinois SB0315, p. 12). Since the passage of this legislation
school districts across the State have begun to create teacher evaluation plans which
include a measure of student achievement.
During the past two years, I have studied the relationship between teacher
evaluation and student learning. According to White (2015), in order to consider the
relationship between teacher ratings and academic achievement the first step is defining
teacher excellence. White (2016) suggests providing a framework for change to support
an effective teacher evaluation process.
This policy advocacy paper will focus on providing an awareness of local and
state opportunities for policy reform based on my program evaluation and change plan.
As I studied the program evaluation and change plan data during 2015 and 2016 I became
aware of critical issues that require a response in order to improve the teacher evaluation
plan in a small school district in the southern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. According to
the 2016 Illinois Report Card (Illinois, 2016), the district serves 1,980 students and
employs 127 teachers responsible for the teaching and learning of a student population
which is 83% black and 86% low income. The district teacher retention rate reported on
1